Black Star
by yuukicrosskuran
Summary: Isabelle Swift was a singer, like Utau. She worked for Yukari and Easter. She was very private, and kept to herself. But, beyond her hard mask, she was yearning for friends. Her life changed when she met Utau. They quit and lived with Amu, went to school as her "cousins", and found what they missed for their whole life: friendship. I do not own Shugo Chara!
1. Isabelle Swift

_Pam!_ 8 year-old Isabelle almost tripped over a rock as she ran towards the sign that announced the winners of the art contest she was in. She was so confident that she would win because of all the time and effort she had put into it. In the end, her landscape drawing had turned out beautiful. Her dark curls bounced as she stopped at the sign. She scanned the list for her name, but didn't find it. _Huh? I can't have lost… can I?_ She hurried over to one of the judges who were chatting with some parents. "E-excuse me…" No answer. The judge must have not heard her. "E-excuse me? Excuse me!" The judge finally turned around and spotted the little girl. He knelt down to talk to her.

"And who might you be, little girl?" He asked politely.

"Isabelle. Isabelle Swift," she replied with a sweet, proud, and beaming smile. The judge scratched his head.

"I remember that name… Oh! You're the girl who drew bacon!"

_Bacon? He must have gotten my name mixed up._ "Uh, I didn't draw any bacon, sir… It was a river…"

"Oh! I'm sorry! That was a river? Pardon me. He he…" He chuckled.

_He'd mistaken my river for bacon! So… I didn't win after all. I guess my dream of becoming an artist wasn't worth it… And all the time I spent into it…_ Trying to hold back the tears in her eyes, Isabelle ran out of the classroom. She heard the judge call her, but she ignored him. She ran and ran, her tears flowing down. She didn't notice the tiny cute girl being trapped in a gray egg flying behind her. Slowly, an X sign appeared on the egg, and it turned pitch-black. Isabelle ran as fast as she could until she ran into something. A woman in glasses with burgundy colored curly short hair wearing beige colored work clothes. The woman smirked and asked, "What's wrong, little girl? Why don't you come with me for a while." She led the young girl into a car and drove off, leaving the only evidence, the trail of tears, drying up behind them.


	2. The Truth

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~5 years later~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hinamori Amu, in her Amulet Heart outfit, dug her heels into the ground as she prepared to perform "Open Heart" on a group of X-eggs. Suddenly she heard a voice behind her.

"You still believe in this nonsense, don't you? Even if you cleanse every X-egg in the world, people's broken dreams will keep popping up." Amu whipped her head around just in time to see a girl with long curly black hair up to her waist character transform into Black Star. The girl grabbed a staff decorated with glittering black stars and swung it, creating a purple light that blinded Amu. When the light faded, the girl and the X-eggs had disappeared. Who was that? Amu asked herself. I wonder if she's involved with Easter's plan. I'd better go tell the other Guardians. The black-haired girl watched Amu leave, and walked to a car, the same car she had went in 5 years ago… with the same woman.

"Good job, Isabelle!" The woman said cheerily. Isabelle just sighed and looked out the window, watching Amu until she disappeared.

Isabelle arrived home, throwing her jacket on her bed, and threw herself on her cushioned chair. Bored and not knowing what to do, Isabelle gazed into the distance and thought about her past.

The day she had been…took in. The day she had lost at the art contest. The day she had ceased being an orphan. She had a sudden feeling, an odd one, of anger mixed with sorrow and fear. Yukari had hired her for the Easter Company to support her for her mission of finding the Embryo, a magical egg that could grant any wish. Rumors state that it would appear with a Guardian Bearer with three guardians, and everyone in the company has their eyes fixed on the pink-haired girl, Hinamori Amu.

"Knock, knock!" Yukari said outside of Isabelle's room. "You have thirty minutes until your next performance." Isabelle remained silent until she heard the sound of Yukari's high heels walk away. Isabelle got up and changed into her concert outfit. It was not that she distrusted Yukari; she was the closest to a sister or mother than anyone had been. It was her old dream for being an artist, and how Yukari showed up right at that exact moment when she was running. There was also the fact that she didn't have any friends. She had thought the other celebrity working for Easter, Utau, would be nice, but she was the ignoring type. Isabelle sat in the make-up room waiting for the hair stylists and make-up people to finish up. Then, she stood up and smoothed out her dress. Ready for the audience, she stepped onto a platform and felt herself rising onto the stage as the introductory music started playing.


	3. Dreams

Meanwhile…

_Knock, knock, knock!_ "Come in." Yukari entered the room of her boss. "I heard you hired a new girl, a celebrity?"

"Yes, another broken dream. Isabelle Swift. Her singing is quite magical. When she sings, she can locate and identify all of her audience and fans' heart eggs without turning them to X eggs. It has tripled the speed of progress for finding the Embryo."

"Quite a strong believer, isn't she?"

Listening to the faint sounds of Isabelle's song playing, Yukari smirked.

"Quite…" Yukari answered.

The bright lights from the stage blinded Isabelle. She held her Black Star Guardian Egg behind her back, for later in the song. Gripping her black star-studded microphone, she danced and sang her dark song like a regular run. She was a naturalist in on-stage work, and her dark side could haunt millions in a minute when she sang. When she came to the middle of the song, she Character Changed into Black Star and started letting out waves of dark gloom that spreads over her audience. When it came to the final wave of the dark gloom, she lifted her hand and pointed towards her live audience. Half of the screaming and cheering ceased, and when the last note ended, everyone listening live, on TV, on the radio, or on the computer would have their egg in plain sight of her. With the last look at the audience and the gathered sea of eggs, Isabelle could tell none in the herd were the Embryo. She turned and was lowered down the stage on the platform. She told Yukari the news and went back to bed.

Though she tried her hardest to sleep, as she had a busy day ahead of her, Isabelle was tired but unable to rest. She just shifted around in her bed, hoping to find a more comfortable position to rest. Finally, she gave up and just lay on her bed, staring up at the ceiling and thinking. After a while, she found herself thinking about Amu and her friends, the Guardians: Yaya, Fujisaki Nadeshiko, Tadase-kun, Kukai, Rima, and Kairi. Then she felt her attention directed to Yukari, Utau, and Ikuto. Yukari had taken Utau, and Yuu-sama, Ikuto. She sighed and slowly drifted off to sleep.

"Come on, Isabelle!" _Huh? Who called me?_ "You're gonna be the rotten egg!" _Rotten egg? _Hinamori Amu turned and stuck her tongue out at her friends. _Why am I here then? I'm not one of her friends… _"Yes you are!" Nadeshiko said suddenly behind her. "Come on, guys! I can't wait to get ice cream, do karaoke, go on roller coasters, and all those fun stuff!" Yaya screamed, making Isabelle put her hands over her ears. Everyone else just laughed. Suddenly, Isabelle had a little tingly feeling, and let out the tiniest of giggles. _So this is what it feels like to have friends… Something I missed out on long ago… _The group of friends skipped away, and Isabelle followed, giggling. They had dinner and talked together like old friends. _-Wait a minute! Why am I here? These are Yukari's enemies… I can't be caught playing with them!_

And with that, Isabelle woke up.

"Had a nice dream?" Isabelle spun around.


	4. Utau

"Wh-what?"

"You were giggling in your sleep," Yukari said, smirking. "Had fun with Amu and her friends?"

"I- No! No, I didn't dream about them." Yukari gave a light chuckle.

"Well, I supposed you wanted to make friends?"

"I… guess…" Yukari stepped aside as the door opened and Utau came in.

"Utau, I want you to meet Isabelle. From now on, try to be friends. You'll have to work together for your next concerts." With that, Yukari exited the room and left the girls to themselves.

_So this is the famous Utau that everyone loves. If only I could sing like her and get that kind of attention…_

_So this is Isabelle… I heard her voice is more powerful than mine. _

"So…" The girls both said at the same time then stopped. There was a disturbing silence after that, where the girls wanted to talk but couldn't find the courage to. Finally, Isabelle broke the silence.

"So… I heard that everyone loves your voice."

Utau stared at Isabelle for a moment, and underneath the stony expression, Isabelle could sense sadness.

Finally Utau answered, "It's not me."

"What?"

"It's not me that everyone loves." Utau looked down, hiding her face with her bangs.

"But I thought-"

Utau stood up and yelled, "It's just the X-egg power! That's the only thing that makes everyone love me!" Then, in a softer voice, she said, "I just want to love me for who I am. I'm a regular girl who has a passion for singing, but the X-egg power turned me into a fake celebrity."

"O-oh…"

Utau sat back down, a little embarrassed by her outburst. She took out a gray egg from her pocket and handed it to Isabelle.

"Look at this."

Turning the egg in her hand and inspecting it, Isabelle said, "It's a Guardian Egg that's…"

"A lost dream."

Still holding the egg, Isabelle stood up and opened a little chest on a shelf. She took out a similar egg, also gray. Utau looked at the egg, then Isabelle.

"You, too?" Isabelle nodded. "I wanted to be an artist, or a singer. I enrolled into an art competition and was confident I would win, but…" She glanced at the egg. "Yukari took me that day…"

Utau nodded. "Same here, but mine was a singing contest."

There was another awkward pause.

"At least we got new Guardian Characters," Utau said, letting Il and El out of her pouch.

"Yeah," Isabelle said half-heartedly as Mauri appeared beside her.

Suddenly, the door creaked open and Yukari came in to get Utau back to her room. She stood up and left, but not without turning and giving a little smile to Isabelle before she closed the door. Isabelle sighed and got ready for bed.


	5. Confessions

The next morning, Yukari gathered the girls for breakfast. While they ate, she told them that they would be singing a duet for a concert the day after.

"What song?" Utau asked without looking up, but Isabelle new she was trying to hide a grin.

"Kinjirareta Asobi," answered Yukari, smiling at the girls. Then adding a little more sternly, "You will practice today. I know you girls are fast learners and expect nothing less than perfection from you."

After breakfast Isabelle was changing into matching outfits with Utau. Yukari also gave them a matching belt and keychain to hang their Guardian eggs on their skirts.

After rehearsal, the girls had a half-hour break and took the time to chat.

"Have you… Have you ever wanted… to quit?" asked Utau. Isabelle looked surprised.

"Now that you mention it, I think… I want to be normal, now. I want to have friends come over, go to school… When I was small, it was in my greatest and wildest dreams to become a celebrity, but now that I am…"

Utau nodded.

"I've had dreams…" Isabelle said slowly. "You know the girl, Hinamori Amu? Well, I dreamed of going shopping with her and all her Guardian friends for Christmas."

Utau nodded. "They all seemed like a lively group. I guess I envy them, too…"

Just then, the door opened and Yukari came in. The girls quickly changed the topic to daily life.


	6. Change

The next day:

"Come on! We're gonna be late!" Utau ushered breathlessly as they rushed for the platforms for the stage.

"If only we remembered to ask Yukari for directions…" Added Isabelle.

The girls made it just as the platforms were starting to rise. The smoothed their hair and skirts and took deep breaths. They were very self-controlled, and sang with ease, despite the long run. They sang like they always had before, maybe even better, and the crowd loved them. But, when it neared the middle of the song, they did something that changed their lives. Instead of Character Transforming with their Guardian Characters, they called volunteers up to sing with them. They had decided that this show was not going to include stealing dreams, as they had figured Easter had done with them. They had so much fun onstage that the almost giggled out loud. They could feel Yukari fuming now, but that just made them want to laugh even more. At the end, they held hands, curtsied, and blew kisses to the audience like newly made celebrities. After the song, when they were in the studio, they laughed so hard that tears came out of their eyes and their stomachs started aching. When they heard the sharp taps of Yukari's high heels on the marble, they tried to compose themselves and bit their lips to stop laughing. Yukari, all mad and fuming, stomped towards them and put her hands on her hips.

"Get… Get out!" She yelled. When she saw the girls stifling giggles, she got even madder. "GET OUT! YOU ARE BOTH FIRED!" The girls were pushed out of the studio and onto the street, still laughing. When Yukari let go of them, they collapsed on the ground laughing and holding their stomachs, careless of the glares from the people passing by. Wiping a tear from the corner of her eye, Isabelle asked, "So what do we do now?"

Utau paused for a moment, then looked around and said, "Let's find Ikuto."


	7. Hinamori Amu

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Time Skip ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Um… You think… Were…"

"Lost…" Utau sighed. Just then, they heard a soft rustle behind them. Isabelle turned around to see a blue haired boy with midnight blue eyes. He cocked his head and stared at his sister, as if to ask why she was there.

"Ikuto!" Utau squealed, and ran to hug her brother. Ikuto sighed, as Utau seemed to be squeezing the life out of him. "Where were you? Did you wander around the streets again? Where did you sleep? Did you eat well?" Utau showered him with questions, but he didn't answer even one.

Isabelle stood on one side, smiling at them. _Utau usually is cool and ignoring, but she sure has different sides… _

Ikuto tried to pry his sister off of himself, but Utau wouldn't let go. In the end, Isabelle had to go and separate them. After that, Ikuto just downright ignored his sister, but she didn't seem to mind. He asked Isabelle for explanations and she told him about their situation. Ikuto sighed and told the girls to follow him. The girls had to walk on walls, jump on roofs, and sneak through people's yards. Isabelle and Utau promised themselves that they would never use the alley cat way to go somewhere.

Finally, they arrived at a plain, regular house, or should I say _on a balcony of _a plain, regular house. This time, it was the girls that demanded explanations. Ikuto just stared into the house ignoring them. From the balcony they could see that it was part of a girl's bedroom. The wallpaper was pink, adorned with girly decorations. Everything was pink, well, mostly everything. A pink quilt on a pink bed with pink pillows with black stripes took up most of the room along with a you-know-what-color shelf with a red and black pouch with hanging amulets on it. Outside of the room, they could hear a girlish, off-key voice singing. They could also hear cheering in the background and the sound of a camera taking pictures.

Then, they heard muffled footsteps approaching the room. Ikuto hung above the balcony to hide, but the girls just stood to one side, peeking in. The door opened and Hinamori Amu stepped in, holding a glass of warm milk. Her pink hair was tied in a messy updo and she was wearing pajamas and socks. Isabelle looked surprised and Utau looked up and raised her eyebrows at Ikuto, as if saying "really?". Ikuto just answered with a shrug. They watched as Amu put her glass of milk on the shelf and flipped the latch for the door to the balcony. Isabelle and Utau started getting nervous as Amu started to step out.


	8. Friends

_Another step and she'll see us! _Thought Isabelle. Ikuto must have sensed this, because he dropped down and covered Amu's mouth just as she was about to scream. Amu looked surprised, but then, as she saw who it was, she started to punch Ikuto to let her go. Ikuto was just about to let go when Isabelle and Utau stepped out of the shadows with a finger to their lips. Amu gasped, but nodded as she saw them. Ikuto let go of her and they all had a whispered conversation about why they were here. After Utau and Isabelle told her the story, Amu rubbed her head thoughtfully. Then she stared out into the night and cocked her head with a smile.

"It sure is late, isn't it?" She asked. "Why don't you girls spend the night here?" When she saw their unsure faces, she replied, "Don't worry! My parents will love the fact that friends are here! It's just my sister… She loves your songs and can be pretty annoying… You'll also have to keep an eye on your Guardian Characters, too-"

The door flew open. "Gwardian Chawacters?" A serious voice said. Amu face looked terrified. "Shuper chawactersh!" Amu's little sister, Ami bounded in, although looking at Amu's face you would think a T. Rex had invaded the house. Ikuto was nowhere in sight, and Isabelle and Utau hid by the side of the balcony. They heard little screams coming from the pouch on the shelf. Ami's face lit up, and she ran to the shelf, trying to climb it. Amu looked amused and thought she would never get up there when Ami suddenly called, "Emerwgenshy!" at the top of her lungs. There was pounding on the stairs, and Amu's parents rushed in, dressed like firefighters.

"We'll save you, Ami!" Her father called, striking a rather silly superman pose. His plastic helmet tipped to one side and was rolling on the floor in an awkward pause.

Amu's mother decided to make her entrance.

"We will fight any crime!" She cried and throwing herself into a fighting stance. Her glasses fell off. There was an even longer pause when she picked up her glasses and did a different pose.

"Mommy and Daddy sho cool!" Ami cried as she jumped off the shelf and into their arms. That's when Amu's parents suddenly caught sight of her and turned into fan mode again. Amu was standing there with her mouth gaping, but suddenly caught herself and put a bored look on her face. "That's our Amu!" Her parents cried and did a silly little dance. Amu sighed and glanced at Utau and Isabelle, who nodded at her.

"Mom, Dad, I… um… have some… friends, yeah friends… over for… sleepover!" She said, and Utau and Isabelle stepped from their hiding places. Amu must have never had sleepovers with her friends at her house before, and she did a little sheepish smile. Ami was the first to recover.

"Labywinth Butterfwy! Bwack Shtar!" She cried, looking at one girl to the next. Utau and Isabelle forced a little smile onto their worried faces.

"The singers?" "Oh my!" Said Amu's parents. They quickly switched modes again.

"My Ladies- I mean, Your Majesties, it is such an honor to have you as guests." They said, making sweeping bows. Then they looked up suddenly and ran off muttering to themselves. They came back trying to haul a full Queen size bed into the room with quilts and embroidered pillows. Utau and Isabelle quickly denied such _s and the odd couple hurried off to get pillows and sleeping bags for them. Amu apologized for her parents'… oddness and Ami finally left to "shleep wif mommy," leaving her father wailing like an infant on the ground. The girls finally got ready for bed and chatted before Amu's father turned off the lights in a flourish.


	9. Preparation for a New Life

The next morning, they woke up to the smell of pancakes. Amu lent them some of her clothes and the got dressed and went downstairs to the sight of six plates of heaping stacks of chocolate chip pancakes. There were at least eight pancakes stacked together in each plate, and the girls wondered how anyone could possibly eat that much without exploding. The girls didn't eat much because of their strong beliefs of looking their best for the stage. However, they ate as much as they could to show their appreciation. The girls finished quickly and, since it was Saturday, they had nothing to do. They lay on their sleeping bags and chatted.

"So you girls would like to keep your identity secret?" Amu asked thoughtfully. The girls nodded, and she smiled sheepishly. "That would be kind of hard since Ami goes to my school and she can't really keep secrets."

"Can we bribe her with candy?"

"Compliments?''

"Frozen yogurt?"

"Ice cream?"

The girls listed off ways to get Ami to listen. In the end, they figured plain respect would keep her from giving them away. But, they agreed that the girls still needed a disguise that didn't look too suspicious. Miki, Amu's blue Guardian Character, help design some outfits and wigs for them. Utau chose a long, plain brown wig under a baseball hat and sunglasses and a boyish T-Shirt and jeans with sneakers. Isabelle went for curly long blue hair with side bangs and timid and shy-looking clothes: a blue-green sweatshirt and a puffy but long skirt. Big white sunglasses hid most of her face, and velvety light-blue colored slip-ons covered her feet. They dressed up and convinced Amu's parents to drop them off at the mall.

They went directly for a cosplay shop that sold colored contact lenses. Utau took dark coffee-colored brown lenses, and Isabelle took aqua-colored ones. The price was too expensive for the lenses, and the girls argued with the boss. The man lost the argument, but he just sneered and said, "What are you gonna do? Hire a lawyer?" Utau and Isabelle did what they had to to help their friend. They slipped off the wig and glasses and revealed their true identities.

"Hmm… Good suggestion!" They said as they made a thoughtful look on their face. The boss quickly agreed to lower the price and gave them a hundred dollar discount. The girls slipped their disguises back on and continued happily through the mall. After buying some clothes that fit their fake personality, they called Amu's dad to pick them up.

The two days that the girls had stayed at Amu's house was a mixture of pure fun and excitement, but that was just the weekend. On Sunday after church, Amu's parents helped sign a registration form to enroll Utau and Isabelle into Seiyo Academy. Utau and Isabelle had to reveal their identities to get enrolled immediately. They even shared the exact same classes with Amu. The principal promised to keep their identities secret, and they made up a story that Utau (Rina) and Isabelle (Lily) were sisters and Amu's cousins. The girls were overjoyed to start a normal life. They went shopping for school supplies and bought backpacks, pencil cases, erasers, notebooks, and pencils that matched their fake identity.


	10. The Guardians

"Good morning everyone! You must be Isa- Uta-… uh… Lily & Rina, right?"

The girls looked up to see Tadase looking at them. Isabelle blushed and looked away.

"Y-yeah," she answered softly.

"Nice to meet 'cha!" said Utau. Kukai grinned and came over to them.

"I'm Kukai!" He said, giving Utau a thumbs up.

"And I'm Tadase," Tadase came over and shook Isabelle and Utau's hands.

"Yaya heard you guys are the famous singers of Black Star and Meikyuu Butterfly!" Yaya called, jumping up and down.

"Uh…well…" Isabelle tried to explain.

"We actually…um…" Utau tried to help.

"It's a secret, Yaya, can we trust you?" Nadeshiko said in her sweet voice.

"Yaya is the best at keeping secrets!" Yaya exclaimed. Nadeshiko introduced herself and the girls thanked her.

"Can't you be quiet for once, Yaya?" asked a soft voice. Rima had just settled down and was reading her gag comic books. Seeing how everyone was looking at her, she sighed and stood up. I'm Mashiro Rima. Nice to meet you, Lily. Rina." She did a curt little bow and settled back to her book.

"Uh, yeah. Nice to meet you," Utau and Isabelle replied. The bell rang to show that there was five minutes until class starts.

"Uh-oh. Me and Nadeshiko need to go now. Bye guys!" Kukai waved and ran out of the garden, dragging Nadeshiko with him, who managed a little wave before the door closed.

"They don't go to this school?" Utau asked.

"They used to. Graduated," said a voice. Kairi stepped out from behind a tree. "Let's see… Isabelle (Lily): likes to ask questions. Escaped from Easter. Was under my sister's command… and…"

"S-so you were hiding behind that tree taking… notes of us the whole time?" Isabelle asked.

"Well I was watching you guys until 7:30. That's when I started taking the notes," he explained. There was silence and everyone could hear the scratching sound of Kairi's pencil writing in his notebook. "Why did Amu leave?"

"Huh?"

"Amu left when I snuck in. Where did she go?" Kairi asked.

"Oh, yeah! Hinamori-san isn't here! I wonder where she went…" Tadase said, looking around. Suddenly there was a scuffling sound on the roof. Utau looked up and saw a blurry figure perched on it. Her eyes lit up and she went crazy.

"Ikutoooooooo!" She squealed, and ran out. The others followed.


End file.
